Jester Park ACTHA AOC

Saturday, Jester Park Equestrian Center held an ACTHA AOC (arena obstacle challenge).  Janet and I showed up right at 8:00 hoping to get a good ride time.  I typically like to ride towards the middle/end and wanted to be spaced far enough apart so I could get some good video of Janet.  That idea was quickly squashed when we entered the registration area to find out they had pre-determined ride times.  Awesome - I was the third one to ride and Janet was the 4th.

The arena was set up nicely.  It looked very well thought out.  Not too difficult but not too easy either.

The riders briefing took longer than I expected.  I looked in the arena to see a horse/rider on the course.  I looked down at my clock it was 10:18 - oh shit!  I was supposed to ride at 10:30 and I hadn't even warmed up!  I ran out to the trailer and grabbed Cat.  Took her through the scary barn and into the warm up area.  Jumped on for about 5 minutes and then it was my turn.

Obstacle #1 - Mount

Cat was fine with this obstacle.  Sis, for whatever reason Sis didn't want to stand still.  This is not Sis so it threw Janet for a loop.

Obstacle #2 - Bridge

The first go, Cat stepped on the bridge and then kind of hesitated like she was waiting to see if it was going to move like the mattress.  Sis did awesome with the bridge which made Janet very happy as she has been struggling with bridges.

Obstacle #3 - Hat Pick Up

As strange as it may seem, I knew this would be Cat's most challenging obstacle.  This was one I had hoped to work on prior to this ride but since my riding was very limited I didn't get a chance.  On the first go she let out a snort but then allowed me to pick it up.  On the second go she was fine but I couldn't seem to get the hat on the stick!  Sis and Janet rocked this one!

Obstacle #4 - Trot Weave

Both horses did well with this one.  Cat did start to slow down on her first go when she saw the pine tree in the corner but ended up making it through it.

Obstacle #5 - Labyrinth

We were required to walk through the labyrinth.  Both horses did well with this one too.

Obstacle #6 - Don't Feed the Bears

Go figure!  The pile of PVC fittings I posted on FB - yeah, that was to make one of these for my fun day.  It is nearly complete but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet.

I'm not sure how many people were able to complete this one.  Mr. Polar Bear received a lot of attention.  On the first go I couldn't get Cat close enough to the fence to get the rope so I grabbed it from the pole.  I was able to get her close enough to return the rope.  On the second go, I was able to get close enough to get the rope but then had difficulties getting it returned.

Obstacle #7 - Pinwheel

I've done pinwheels a few times now but on the first go Cat was not mentally at this obstacle.  By this time she was looking at Janet and Sis and wanting to get the hell out of the arena.  The board was a 2 - 8 and was quite heavy.  I knew I wasn't going to be able to complete the obstacle so I dropped the board heavily onto the barrels to see what she would do.  Surprisingly I didn't get a reaction.

Round 2 I was able to complete this obstacle but it wasn't pretty.

Janet and Sis have struggled with the pinwheel and were not able to complete it.  This is something we will have to work on in the future.

Obstacle #8 - Mailbox

Not exactly a difficult obstacle.  Round 1 Cat was ready to be done so as soon as I shut the box she though she could leave.  Round 2 was much better.  Sis did better with this one Round 1.  Round 2 she moved away from it and then Janet couldn't get her back up to it.  This was very frustrating for Janet.

While Cat's performance wasn't anything to write home about, I was still very pleased.  I've ridden her 8 times this year, was not able to ride her the week prior to the competition, and had little to no warm up.

I'm glad this was done as "Gambler's Choice" as it gave me a chance to see how much she could improve.

We ended up taking home a the Blue and a long list of things to work on!

ETA - Ride Results